Her Eyes
by DeadlyDisneyDiva
Summary: Jim is a boy who doesn't need love. Ariel is a girl whose love has been tarnished from abuse. When they meet sparks fly, but what will happen when Jim meets his father after all these years? (Jim x Ariel) (Sad)
1. Prologue

This story does not begin with, 'Once Upon a Time'. There is no happy ending. But, there is love… love that I lost. I write this story to remember my beloved girl with the eyes that matched the sea from which she came.

It all started when I was a kid, only 7 years old. I built my first wooden ship. I remember the grin that crossed my face, I believed nothing could have soiled my happiness. The oak wood, the flag that wavered in the breeze from the porthole. But, then my father walked through in the door. I held up the ship, my hard work had been poured into the tiny mass. It was a gift for him. The man only shook my hair between his calloused fingers and didn't give me a second glance. That was the first time he disappointed me. Four years later was the last disappointing moment I could remember of him. I woke to see him leaving. He never came back.

I didn't remember his face anymore, it had become blurred by time. It was for the best, my mother never talked about him either. If I brought him up she would walk away, acting busy. However; I knew she had left crying. I don't know what occurred that morning when my father left but this is the story of how I found out, the story of the time I met my dad. All over again.


	2. Chapter 1

I walked up the dirty road, my boots kicking up the dust. The Inn was just as I remembered it. Being back from the Interstellar Academy felt better than I had imagined. No homework, no responsibilities just me working at the Inn like old times. Best of all, I was about to see my mother again! The last time I was away from her this long was when I adventured to Treasure Planet. The wind swept my brunette hair back as I reached the door. I opened the door with a flourish, setting my bags in the doorway. "Mom?" My voice rang through the halls of the Benbow Inn. She wasn't there. "Mom? I'm home!" I called once more as I stepped into the kitchen. No answer. A pot of water was boiling over. "Woah!" I exclaimed as I quickly took it off of the stove.

The door had been open, the stove had been on. She was here. Yet, she hadn't greeted me. Something was wrong. I began to run through the house, searching every room. I couldn't find her for the life of me.

The last room I had to check. Her bedroom. My hand grazed the handle, opening the door to the room. My hands shook as I walked into the room, my eyes searching for her. She wasn't at her desk either. I turned the corner to the bathroom and in that one second my life turned to pure horror. I screamed until my throat hurt, my tears flowing down my face. "No... NO!" My voice threatened to rip my own throat out. I ran to her lifeless body, cradling her. Blood stained the white tiles of the floor, the water dyed red. My senses finally captured me and I ran for the phone.

I didn't eat. I didn't sleep. My mind tumbled in **to** chaos as I waited for the words of relief. She had to be alive. She had to. The thing that killed me was that my mother was a happy person. Hadn't I been there for her? Was I the reason she picked up the knife? Over and over my mind swirled.

"Sir?" A doctor stood next to me. I sprang up, clinging to him.

"Will she be okay? Is she alive? Tell me, damn you!" I yelled in his face. No one in that waiting room dared to meet my gaze. The gaze held a thousand emotions, each fiercer than the last.

"We had to give several blood transfusions for her to survive but... she will be alright. You can see her now." The doctor said and pointed to the double doors. I didn't thank him. I didn't acknowledge anyone. All I knew was that I had to see my mother. I stumbled into the first room I saw. A girl with bright blue eyes stared at me, red hair twirling around her pale face. A deep bruise covered her eye and I'm sure there were several more. A blanket covered her up to her chin.

"Can I help you?" Her voice was soft, gaining it's strength back. That's when I realized I hadn't even asked where my mothers room was. I had just walked into another patients room. "Are you looking for someone?" The girl managed a smile. She was about my age and looked to be in great pain. I could see through her bruised face she had once been beautiful.

"Yes... I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." I began to leave the room to find my mother. Her voice halted me.

"Wait! Maybe... I could help you find the person you're looking for." She said politely, straining to sit up. The stranger winced but managed.

"Well..." I stared at the floor, the ceiling, anything to not look at her face. "I'm looking for my mother. She was just brought in about twelve hours ago." I said softly, daring myself to look at her eyes again. Big mistake. The brilliant blue held so much compassion, I had never seen something like that before.

"Your mother? Well, I do know that a woman came in here on a stretcher... attempted suicide?" She asked kindly, in a way that didn't make me feel any pain. I merely nodded. "I don't know what room she is in but when I asked my nurse about her she said she would be in the next wing over." The girl pointed past me, down the hall. "I always ask about the patients... There isn't anything in here to distract me. So, I imagine the kind of life they had. I make up nice tales." The girl chatted away. I began to shift from foot to foot uncomfortably. At once the girl noticed. "Oh... right. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help... I'm Ariel." The girl introduced with another strained smile.

"Jim." I said softly and nodded at the girl in the bed. "Thank you." I mumbled as I left.

I went to the wing that Ariel had pointed out slowly. I didn't want to walk in on another unfortunate soul. I passed a nurse, quickly asking where I could find Sarah Hawkins. The helpful worker showed me to the room herself, making sure I got there. "Thank you." I said with a nod. The room was dreary, a suicide watch guard in the corner, a wilting plant on the sill. My mother in the bed. As I walked to her she turned her head toward me, a small smile reaching across her dry lips. She tried to say my name,but her voice was too hoarse.

"Mother... I'm here." I whispered, taking her weak hand. The guard left the room slowly, closing the door behind him. I didn't know what to say, I fought back the tears that lingered.

My mother shook her head slowly at me, "Jim... I can't say how sorry I am..." She whispered. "I never wanted this to happen. I didn't... he- he did this to me."

"Who did this?" I said back, keeping with her hushed tone.

"Your father..."


	3. Chapter 2

A/N (Forgot to say all rights to Disney whoops! Also, there will be plenty of dissing on Prince Eric. Don't like don't read. Here we go!)

My face grew red hot with anger. My hands shook as they held onto my mother's with a weak grip. "He left. You're lying." I spat the words through my teeth. I'd been waiting all of my life to hear my father was back, but not like this.

"I wish it wasn't true-" Her words were cut off by a coughing fit. My anger melted away as I began to console my mother. The coughing soon subsided and she smiled weakly up at me.

I looked at her with loving eyes, "Rest now. We can talk later." I said softly and took her hand again. We sat in silence. Usually silence was something I cherished but now it was hell. No talking meant no answers, it meant I was left alone with my thoughts. Had my father actually tried to kill my mother? The memories of him were so hazy that I couldn't recall if he had been a kind person or not. But I suppose you could be kind and still attempt murder. A gentle hand rested on my shoulder.

I looked up to see a bright faced nurse with rouged cheeks and glossy lips. "Mrs. Hawkins needs her rest. Visiting hours for her are over." She kindly explained. I looked back at my mother again to see she had already closed her eyes. I slowly backed out of the room as the nurse closed the door.

"Fuck." I sighed and let my forehead crash against the plaster wall. My father attempted to kill my mother. Why? If I had been there could I have saved her? Would he have killed me too? My thoughts built off of each other as I began to leave for the night.

As I began to open the double doors a voice from the first room captured my attention, "Jim?" I backtracked a few steps to see the beaten woman again. What had her name been? She had remained sitting up, her blankets wrapped around her torso. This uncovered her purple and yellow arms, covered in bruises. "Did you find what you were looking for?" She asked politely.

I didn't answer."Well, it was nice seeing you again." She filled the silence after a few moments.

My eyes darted to her name tag at the end of her bed. 'Ariel' in cute letters with a few bubbles dotting the 'i'.

"You too, Ariel." I nodded at her and slowly walked out of the hospital.

The next day I went back to visit my mother. Once again, Ariel stopped me. "Jim!" She said excitedly, standing by the window. Standing. Her body looked a different shade from her natural skin tone and I couldn't help but wonder what the hell had happened to her. "Are those flowers for your mother?" She asked and gestured at the bouquet in my hands. I couldn't help but keep staring at her body. She was thin, almost to the point where every bone in her body was revealed. Her blood red hair curled down her back, still uncombed. But the thing that captured my attention the most was her deep blue eyes. Eyes that swallowed my soul, eyes that took my breath away. Ariel caught my looks but decided to keep to her cheerful attitude, "Are you staring at me standing? Great, huh?" Ariel beamed happily at her own accomplishment.

I couldn't help but give a tiny smile at the overly enthusiastic girl. "It's great, Ari." I made up the nickname quickly. The girl only giggled and turned back to the window. Our fleeting conversation was over. I couldn't help but wonder if she did this to every visitor that passed by.

I neared my mother's room, knocking on the door politely. "Come in." Her voice sounded stronger than yesterday. I opened the wooden door and peeked my head inside. She was sitting up, her cuts and scars bandaged tightly. "Jim!" Her smile brightened the room.

"I brought you these." I said with a small smile back, slightly bigger than the one I had given Ariel. I presented the flowers before putting them in a vase by her window."How are you doing today, mom?" I asked and sat by her bedside. "Where's the guard?"

"Left." She said simply. "You just missed your father too." I bit hard on my tongue from saying anything vulgar. How dare he see my mother! See what he had done to her. "He left the envelope on that desk for you." Sarah pointed toward the desk near the door of the room. My gaze went to the small white parcel sitting there. I walked to it. In what seemed like an eternity I finally opened the envelope. The letter had been folded carefully, no edges sticking out from one side or another. Word from my father. After all of the years I finally got to read what he had to say.

" _Jim._

 _We have unfinished business, son. Did your mother ever tell you why I left? Does she ever talk about me? I would hope both questions are answered yes. If so then you know what I want. If not then your mother is even more of a fool than I imagined. I hope this letter gets to you. I wish I could be there to see the look on your face when you read this but due to the circumstances you probably would rather rip my heart out than hear anything I have to say. Your mother isn't who you think, Jim. I'm not who you think either. Believe me when I say I'll come for you. Not in a wicked way… we just have things to talk about. Happy things._

 _I'm not the enemy here._

 _-Leland"_

I read the letter three times before I vomited. The trash can held my breakfast as I wretched. My mother wasn't who I thought she was? What did half of that letter even mean? I coughed a few times before standing straight again, wiping my mouth on my sleeve. "Jim?" My mother's voice brought me back to reality. "Are you okay?" I nodded and turned to her.

"Mom I got to go." I whispered, getting upset all over again. She nodded knowingly.

"Wait… Jim." My mother slowly reached and picked a daisy from the flower bouquet. "Here, dear. I love you." She smiled sadly, knowing whatever I had just read had shaken me.

"I love you too." I whispered and kissed her forehead softly, taking the flower. I walked from the room, spinning the daisy between my two fingers, thinking.

As I passed Ariel's room I expected another conversation. But when I looked in I saw her sleeping soundly. Her small walk must have tired her. A smile danced across her lips, her long eyelashes downcast in sleep. In her sleeping innocence her beauty found her again. I bit my lip softly, forgetting about my troubles when I looked at her. I slowly walked into the room, placing the daisy on her nightstand. I left the hospital.


	4. Chapter 3

As I stumbled off of my solar surfer the rain only got worse. The sky was black, streaked with lightning every few minutes. The ground seemed to shake. I didn't know if that was my nerves or the storm above me. Pressing the button on my surfer to let the sail down, water hit me. It felt as if I was drowning.

I held my jacket above my head as I ran to the door of the Inn. The puddles sloshed underneath my boots. "Come on... come on!" My key to the Benbow slipped between my fingers and down into a puddle. "Shit." Swearing was an old habit. I muttered curses under my breath as my hand splashed around in the water for the key. I couldn't find it as the rain soaking me blurred my vision. I decided to get it later and I would just use the spare key for now.

My fingertips brushed around the sides of the door. Mother always hid a spare key at the top of the door. Not the most _original_ place, but if there was anything valuable in the Benbow I would be shocked. "Where the hell is that key?" I made a second sweep with my hand. The door creaked open in-front of me. 'What the-' My thought wasn't finished. As I let go of my jacket in shock I stared at the last person I ever expected to see again. My father.

Leland stood in the doorway, a shiny key dangling from his index finger. "Looking for this?" His smirk was twisted in his ugly and scarred face. He leaned against the door with such a relaxed air about him that you would think he saw me every day.

"Dad..."

The seat was comfortable, it always had been. But, as I sat there now I never felt more out of place. "Can I get you something, Jim?" The man sauntered around, acting as if he still lived there. All I could do was shake my head and find the courage inside me not to rip his head off. My hands clutched at the arms of the chair like a lifeline. I watched Leland stride across the room, pacing.

I finally gathered my courage, shooting back at him, "The real question is why are you here? You don't have the right." The words were spat between gritted teeth. The stranger turned, almost in shock at my response.

"What am _I_ doing here?" Leland chuckled softly, shaking his head side to side. He seemed to gather his thoughts, a long pause overriding his first statement. "I came to see you! Certainly you got my letter." He walked toward me. I jumped up before he got close.

"Yeah. I got it. That doesn't mean you're welcome here you worthless piece of shit." The fears of my past began to bubble, the anger climbing through my throat. I felt the urge to cry and only pushed it down. "You could have killed her." My voice was soft. Methodic. "Yet, you don't seem to care. You said she lied. The only _real_ liar in this family is you. Calling yourself a father? _My_ father? You'll never come close. A father is someone who is always there for their family. Someone that cares for not only their wife but for their children! Taking notice of what they have to say, never leaving home without saying good-bye. That is a father." The words poured from my mouth, I couldn't stop once I got going. The shock on his face was almost too good.

As I stood there out of breath Leland shook his head somberly. His smirk was gone, the confident man now a shell of desperation. "No... you...you're right, Jim. A father should be there. I want to still be there." Now it was my turn to be surprised. "In-fact... I know you're into that treasure thing so… I want you to join me. The next expedition. I want you there. Everything will be explained and uh…" He grabbed his coat. "Contact me through your mother if you're going." He opened the door. "Oh and uh… say 'hi' to her for me?" He was gone.

I sank into my chair again, feeling powerless. Would I go? Did I actually want to know why my father did the things he did? I had to think on it. Thunder clapped outside as my mind raced, a sign of things to come.


End file.
